Two divorced fathers, one a lawyer and the other a financially-strapped welder, meet at Playland with their sons and compare their post-marital woes. Alan Alda complains about ex-wife Barbra Feldon's kooky paintings while Doug McClure gripes about ex Connie Stevens and her spending habits. The dated look of the film and the sometimes cringe-worthy dialogue in Richard Baer's teleplay assures that this TV-movie will never see a DVD release, although the nasty/funny guy-talk between Alda and McClure in the opening scenes hits a truthful chord. Sitcom contrivances--the men end up dating each other's wives--ultimately betrays the early promise (it feels put on, for ratings). The acting ensemble is really hit-and-miss: McClure would seem to be out of his league acting opposite no less a TV pro than Alda, but Alan Alda at this point had a penchant for laying on the polite 'naturalness' too heavily (one tires of his rehearsed joshing manner, his nervous, rapid speech and his eyes always crinkling up in laughter). As for the ladies, they twinkle and giggle but are basically here to be mates for the men and not living, breathing women. This being 1972, writer Baer makes no apologies for his apparent male chauvinism--yet another reason "Playmates" will never see the light of day.
